The anecdote I have now given will serve to illustrate the character of some good people of
Hindoostaun of the present day ; indeed, the veneration and respect paid by all classes to
those men who lead religious lives, is but little changed from the earlier pages of the Mussul-
maun history. I have just met with a Durweish anecdote, of former times, that may be worth
transcribing, as I have received it from Meer Hadjee Shaah, whose aid I am so much indebted
to for subjects with which to amuse my friends. ”

Shahood Dowlah was a Durveish who flourished in the reign of King Shah Jahan at Delhi, but whose fame is known throughout India to the present day. This Durveish was remarkable for his activity of body. It is related, that he was often to be seen at prayer in Delhi, and in three hours after he had transported himself eighty miles off without any visible assistance but his own personal activity on foot. This extraordinary rapidity of movement rendered him an object of veneration ; and the general belief was, that he was highly favoured of Heaven, and gifted with superna- tural power; the life he led was purely religious, with a total disregard of earthly riches. ”

The King, Shah Jahan, was a very sensible person, and a great admirer of all that is counted good and excellent in his fellow-men ; he was particularly friendly to such men as the Dur- weish, or others who devoted their lives to religious exercises. He had often heard of Shah ood Dowlah, without ever meeting with him, and on hearing of some singular acts of this Durweish, he was desirous of seeing him, and gave orders accordingly to his Minister, that messengers should be sent in search of the holy man, but as often as they appeared before the Durweish’s hut he was invisible ; this statement even added to the King’s curiosity. On a certain day the King was seated on the story of his palace which overlooked the town and the outskirts beyond the walls, in conversation with his Minister and favourites, when the Durweish was espied at no great distance standing on the broadway ; which, when the King knew, lie desired messengers might be dispatched to convey the holy man to his presence. ‘Your royal will shall be obeyed,’ replied the Minister; ‘ but your Majesty must be aware that the extent of the circuit from the palace to the outer gate is so great that long before a slave can get to that road, Shah ood Dowlah will be beyond the reach of our summons. With all due submission to your Majesty’s better judgment, would it not be more prudent to call him from hence, and persuade him to ascend the wall in a basket suspended to a rope. The King agreed, and the Durweish was hailed.

‘Our King, the Protector of the World, commands Shah ood Dow- lah’s attendance’ — The Durweish, looking up at the summoner, inquired, ‘Where is the King ?’ — ‘ In this apartment,’ he was answered. — ‘How am I to get near him ? he is too far off’: an old man does not well to climb/ — ‘

Wait a minute,’ replied the servant, ‘ your conveyance shall be prepared.’ ” In a few minutes the basket descended from the upper story, by a strong rope, well secured against the probability of accident.

The Durweish, — who was covered with a chudha, or sheet, to keep him from giddiness in the ascent, — seated himself firmly in the basket, and the servants drew him up in safety. He was immediately conveyed to the King’s apartment ; who, contrary to precedent, rose at his entrance to receive this respected and much-desired guest. ” ‘ Pray -be seated, my friend,’ said the King, leading him to the most honoured part of the royal carpet. The Durweish obeyed without a moment’s hesitation, to the astonishment of the Vizier, nobles, courtiers, etc., who had never before seen a human being seated in the King’s presence, not even one of the most exalted of the nobles. ‘ I have long desired this happiness,’ said the King to the Durweish, ‘ that I might converse with you.’ — ‘ Your Majesty is very gracious to the poor Durweish,’ was responded. ‘I hear much of your great virtue and good life,’ said the King, ‘ from the world, my subjects.’ — ‘ They do but flatter the poor Durweish,’ was his reply ; adding, ‘ none can tell what passes in my heart, when they view only my face. I am but a poor Durweish.”

“I have many questions to ask you,’ said the King, ‘ which I hope to have resolved from your own mouth ; but, first, I beg to be informed, what methods you have used in order to acquire that command over selfish feelings, which is displayed in your intercourse with the world? and by what means you have become so enlightened in the ways pleasing to -God ?’ ”

The Durweish with a smile of pleasure, and in language calm as respectful, answered in the following words : — ‘ Your Majesty, the Protector of the World, was desirous of becoming personally known to the very meanest of your subjects, the poor Durweish ; the opportunity arrived, and you condescended to let down a line of rope to assist your poor subject in the ascent to your presence. With equal condescension you have seated me by your side ; and I, the poor Durweish, feel a due sense of the honour conferred on me. Had I been anxious to gain admittance to the Protector of the World, many would have been the difficulties to surmount ; your castle is well guarded, your gates innumerable to be passed ere this place could be reached, and who would have aided the poor Durweish’s wishes ? But your Majesty had the will, and the power to effect that will ; whilst I, who had neither, might have exerted myself for. ages without effect. Such then, O King ! is the way God draws those whom He wills unto Him. He sees into the hidden recesses of the human heart, and knows every working of mortal minds ; He has no difficulty to surmount ; for to whom in His mercy He grants evidence of His love, He draws them to Himself in heart, in soul, in mind, with infinitely less effort than thou hast exerted to draw my mortal body within thy palace. It is God who in love and mercy throws the line to man; happy that soul who accepts the offered means, by which he may ascend !’ ‘

- Excerpted from Observations on the Mussulmauns of India: Description of Their Manners by B. Mir Hasan ‘Ali
pub 1832

Video interview of Sheikh Maulana Nazim al Haqqani in 1998 by Turkish television station Kanal 7.

Mawlana Nazim talks about weapons of mass destruction on the island of Cyprus and the spirit of ‘74 for Turkish Cypriots.

Shaykh Mawlana Nazim also talks about the evil intentions of the West regarding Muslims and Turks.

Naksibendi’s are often criticized for strong beliefs of Imam Mahdi’s (AS) imminent coming. This is an adjusted version my comments on the topic of the latter in a conversation.

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My beliefs (if I can call them my own) are simply in line with basic Islam. A reminder for us would be that nearly all Sunni Shaykhs have referenced this day and age as the time immediately before Imam Mahdi (AS), a time of trials. In the same manner, it was sunnah to explain and describe things in this way. So much so that even the Sahabi who lived over 1400 years ago would expect Qiyamat, Imam Mahdi (AS), and the Dajjal as very imminent things.

Yet, is this yielding to a philosophy of life based on prophecy of events and people to come, defeatist in the present?

I assert that holding this religious position is not defeatist but a necessary factor in refocusing our efforts inward, which yields better outwards results (as a natural consequence) in the most clean and organic manner.

The way of Islam is that even if you know that Qiyamat is tomorrow, you are still expected to plant your tree, coming from a Hadith of the Holy Prophet (S).

However, by interpreting this tradition as belief that valuable knowledge of future spiritual realities is to be *ignored* in favor of any and all practical work would be a sad mistake. This is because the fundamental factor here is change of attitude, of perception. Modification of attitudes allows me to now focus on planting my tree, in my garden, but with the knowledge that it may or may not give fruit and give benefit for others tomorrow. We plant with hope.

The lesson to take here is not to act in ignorance of spiritual knowledge, but rather, to build your life in a way of Islam, and allow it to grow. Since then, the community changes, because you are a part of that community. The ‘government’ itself changes, because the people have changed, and Allah changed the conditions for such a people.

The way of Ahl ul sunnah leaves ‘big picture’, hard-turn, forceful changes of societies for the Awliya to manage and direct, and lets us focus on establishing ourselves as Muslim servants within an Islamic community in the best manner possible. One that allows us to keep our faith and live simply.

This approach directly contrasts with the example of secularists and their ‘activist reform’ that directly target political institutions and various ’causes of the day’ and sucks dry the spiritual progress of the activist individual in bitter arguments. Delusion upon layer of delusion piles on the individual as they believe they are changing society for the better, when they end up compromising principle after principle personally.

Sadly, I don’t think any of us are prepared to put aside our nafs and be able to dictate to each other how entire governments need to be run, especially when we can’t figure out how to run our own households.

Believing in Imam Mahdi (AS) and his imminent arrival is hardly a reason to stop working on improving our personal situation. If anything, it is more of a reason to focus on improving our personal relationship to our faith, which yields the best results for those around us in a very practical manner.

The trials of Imam Mahdi’s (AS) time will be huge, in fact, numerous Muslims won’t even be properly able to identify him due to their own personal weaknesses of faith. Shouldn’t that concern us? Working on building that faith for the above reason, if not our own ‘personal’ Day-of-Judgement (death), gives us renewed energy to get us thinking about our own faith, its strength, its weaknesses.

Finally, while a faith in the future ‘Utopian ideal’ focuses us on personal development it is also a reason to let us abandon imposing our various socio-political-economic viewpoints on other people. It allows us to concern ourselves -with- ourselves and in that way be helpful to others.

Worry about governments is compost heap for our time and energy. Governments have very little imposing factors on real Islamic communities, especially rural ones living lives of simple Islam. This is really regardless of where in the world we decide to settle.

As the Prophet (S) said in Sahih Bukhari:

“Allah’s Apostle said, “There will come a time when the best property of a Muslim will be sheep which he will take to the tops of mountains and the places of rainfall so as to flee with his religion from the afflictions. ”

When will we decide that things will be bad enough to take a little bit of that holy advice?

Sufi Mawlid in Urdu by Sabri Brothers. Pakistan Sufism

English Translation written in the video.

Yavuz Sultan Selim had sent a military expedition to Egypt as part of his campaign to unite all Muslim lands under one flag. Along the way, he allowed his army to rest in very large fruit garden. But before continuing on the journey, the sultan had all of his soldiers’ bags checked to see if there were any fruit inside. Seeing that no soldier took a fruit, Sultan Selim raised his hand up toward the sky and said, ” O Allah, endless praise to You. Thank You for giving me an army that does not consume haram. Had there been a single soldier that ate a fruit without permission from its owner I was going to turn back from the expedition.” And he continued to praise and thank Allah…

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Osmanlı orsusunun, İslam’ı tek bir bayrak altında toplamak gayesi ile Mısır seferine giderken Gebze yakınlarındaki bağlık-bahçelik bir arazide mola verdiğinde Yavuz Sultan Selim’in bütün askerlerin heybelerini arattığını ve hiçbirinde meyve cinsinden birşey çıkmaması üzerine ellerini semaya açarak; ‘Allah’ım, sonsuz şükürler olsun ki bana haram yemeyen bir ordu lütfettin. Eğer askerimin içinde bir tek kişi sahibinden izinsiz bir meyve yeseydi ve ben bunu haber alsaydım Mısır seferinden vazgeçerdim! diyerek Rabbine sonsuz hamd’ü senalarda bulunduğunu…

Here is a video of a short but powerful speech given by Sheikh Maulana at the “Avrupa Milli Gorus Teskilati” convention fourteen years ago. In the video you can see the former prime minister of Turkey and then head of the Islamic oriented Refah Party, Necmettin Erbakan; the mayor of Istanbul and now the current prime minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan; and Refah Party parliamentarian who later was living in exile from Turkey for many years, Sevki Yilmaz.

The video has english subtitles: